TOKYO (AP) -- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is in talks with Boeing Co. about a possible link in the aerospace industry, a spokesman for the Japanese manufacturer said Monday.
"We are now in talks with Boeing about the possibility of broadly cooperating in the aerospace field," said a Mitsubishi spokesman on condition of anonymity.But he refused to discuss other details, including the prospect of when talks with the Seattle-based Boeing might be concluded.
On Saturday, two nationally circulated Japanese newspapers -- the Nihon Keizai Shimbun and the Yomiuri Shimbun -- said the two companies have reached a basic agreement on a comprehensive alliance in the aerospace business. The deal was said to include jointly developing commercial rockets and a next-generation passenger jet.
Boeing later denied the report. A visit to Tokyo last week by Boeing Senior Vice President Alan Mulally included "routine business discussions" but no specific or new agreements, a Boeing spokeswoman said.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was the maker of Japan's famous Zero fighter during World War II.
The company is currently working on Japan's next-generation F-2 fighter jet in a joint program with U.S. aircraft makers Lockheed Martin and General Electric.
Last month, an Airbus Industrie spokesman in Munich, Germany, said the company is holding talks with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries regarding cooperation in Airbus' development of the planned A-3XX 600-seat jet airliner.